Happy Birthday Dear Kal?
by courderouge2006
Summary: The loss of his father hit Clark harder than he wants to admit to anyone. Feeling like he's run out of options, he turns to the one person you can depend on to push away pesky emotions and feelings... I own nothing of Smallville, please R&R.


This just came to me, not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. Hope you enjoy.

//

"You hiding up here Smallville? Come on, the cake wasn't that bad was it? I did try, honestly." Lois walked up the steps to the loft, seeing Clark sitting at his desk, his broad back wrapped in yet another flannel shirt. His shoulders were slumped and she knew it had to be hitting him hard. His first birthday without his father. Sighing, she walked up into the loft and crossed over to him. "Clark? The journal wasn't that bad was it? I've got the receipt if you really want to try to return it, though the engraving might hurt your chances."

Clark didn't move. He sat hunched over at his desk, elbows propped on his knees. His hands moved slightly as if he was holding something.

Lois knelt down by him. "Clark, I know it's hard. And I wish I could tell you that it was just going to get easier, but that wouldn't be true. There isn't going to be an easy fix for the pain you're feeling."

He sniffed once. "I have one."

Lois raised her brow and reached over to his hands. "Clark, what do you have?" She tugged gently on his hand to get him to spread them apart and she saw a small box. "What is this?"

Clark held the box out to her, not even looking. His eyes stayed glued to the floor.

Taking the small box Lois lifted the lid to find… "I never took you for the jewelry type Clark. Is this your class ring? Hmmm, nice ruby."

Clark snatched the box back from her. "Lois you don't need to be up here right now. Just… leave."

Slowly releasing a breath, Lois rose up and sat on the edge of the desk. "Clark, we might not be the closest of friends, but I know you're hurting. And I can't just ditch my friends when they're in this much pain."

"I won't be in pain. Just go. I know how to deal with it."

Every warning bell and alarm was going off inside her head at that statement. "Clark, given my history with drinking contests at Met U I know I'm not the best person to preach against the evils of booze and alcohol, but trust me when I say that the mind altering route isn't the way to go. It'll take the pain away for a moment, but it'll be worse when you sober up."

"It's not like that Lois, just leave. Now."

She stepped back from his cold tone. "You can get all gruff if you want to but I'm definitely not going anywhere now bud. Sorry." Crossing her arms, Lois stood a few feet away from Clark staring him down.

Clark just snorted. "Fine. Have it your way." Opening the ring box he plucked the bauble out and stared at it for a moment… then slipped it onto his right hand.

Lois was ready to give him a ludicrous look at the idea that slipping a cheesy piece of high school paraphernalia could ease his pain, but something happened right in front of her that she couldn't easily explain. Clark changed. His stance, the way he carried himself… and his eyes. Those beautiful, deep blue eyes disappeared in a flash of fire before he grinned. "Clark? What… what just happened?"

Tossing the ring box on the desk, Clark turned to her and stopped… his eyes moved up and down her body, devouring her almost. His eyes stayed on her chest for a moment before they met hers, boring deep into her. "Well hello. I knew Clark was holding back on me, but damn! Lois right? Yea, I've seen your swimsuit calendar replaying over and over in Clark's head many, many… many times."

Lois shrank back from the hungry stare she was getting. "Clark… I don't know what's going on, but this isn't funny. Quit playing around."

He took a step closer. "No playing around here at all darlin'. And that nasty habit, calling me Clark, that's got to change. You can call me Kal."

Lois snorted, slapping a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't laugh in his face. "Ok… ok Smallville, why don't you just get this out of your system, if it helps you grieve so be it, and I swear I'll never tell anyone about this." She put her hand on his chest, trying to comfort him.

Kal looked down at the long slender fingers. Sliding his hand over hers he lifted it from his chest and pressed a gentle kiss right onto the pulse point of her wrist. "I keep telling you sweets, no Clark here."

Lois bit back the small whimper from when she felt his lips hum against her wrist. "Look farmboy, just get it out of your system, we'll go and watch a movie, and you can slip into your plaid jammies. I'll let you have your bed tonight, how about that?"

Kal grinned even wider. "Sounds great to me, as long as you're in it with me."

Lois stumbled back again, hitting the wall. "Look Clark, this is getting old real fast. Just knock it off!"

Kal growled and slipped his arm around her waist. "Would that pussy Clark have the balls to do this?" His hand slipped down squeezing Lois' tight little ass. "Or this?" He moved in against her, pressing his hard body against hers. "Or this?" Running his mouth along her throat, Kal placed deep wet kisses across her skin, humming and sucking at the skin just below her throat and feeling her pulse race. He could hear her heart pumping faster and he liked it. "Not that he hasn't thought about it. Clarkie has wanted you since you came to the farm. You should see the naughty thoughts he had when you busted into the bathroom that day in just his shirt. That boy is filthy." Kal "tsk"-ed as he shook his head.

Lois fought for air. In spite of how weird he was acting, her own traitorous body reacted to the feeling of hard… muscles pressing against her so blatantly. She pushed both her hands between their bodies and pushed against Clark's… Kal's… the king of flannel's chest. "Clark, I don't know what you took but please… you don't have to pull this kind of thing to get my attention."

Kal took a step back. "Apparently he does. Clark doesn't have the balls to just go out and take what he wants. If he did do you think that flaming filet A.C. would have even gotten his hands on you?" Kal walked around the loft, his eyes staying on Lois. "_Oh hey, I'm Arthur, I swim a lot and love the tuna, I wear board shorts and tank tops all year round because I'm so big and strong_. All the Coppertone's gone to his head, he thinks he deserves a woman like you."

Lois saw a flash of red. "Look, at least A.C. wanted to go out and make a difference. He didn't just hide out on the farm doing chores. He had a purpose and he tried to help people."

Kal leaned back, arms at his sides as his head tilted and he let out a long, loud laugh. "Ohhh that is rich! You really don't have a clue about Clark do you? Sorry sweetheart, I know you got the looks but there needs to be a little bit of an IQ to go with the Double D's." Looking down at himself, he sighed. "But I can see why you're having trouble telling us apart. I swear this kid has no fashion sense. Be right back sugar tits." Winking, Kal disappeared from the loft leaving a rush of wind whirling loose papers around.

Lois stared at the spot he had just been in wide eyed. "Holy shi…!" She was cut off when he reappeared in front of her, but he looked so different. Gone were the primary colors and plaid patterns. Cla… "Kal" stood in front of her wearing tight black jeans, a black long sleeve button up rolled halfway up his forearms and matching boots. "What the hell? I didn't know you even owned anything like this!"

Kal shrugged. "I like to keep a few things hidden away just in case I finally get a chance to make an appearance."

Lois looked from the boots up his body… marveling at how snug the shirt fit across his chest and arms, before she finally snapped up to look into his eyes. "Wait! How did you… you were here and then gone and now back here and you're in different clothes. What's going on, is that ring some sort of meteor rock?"

Holding his hand up and wiggling his fingers, Kal smiled. "Oh yea, the best kind. Red K. All the rush of the best shit you could find in Metropolis, none of the nasty legalities."

"But Chloe showed me some of that before, it never did anything to me."

Kal shook his head. "You're not Kryptonian. Duh."

Lois opened her mouth to say something else when Kal sped over and covered her mouth. "Tell you what, come with me and we'll get it all squared away, how about that sailor?" With another wink Kal had Lois in his arms and he was gone, leaving the loft of the barn empty.

//

When they finally stopped Lois stumbled on her feet for a moment, grabbing out for anything she could to keep from falling. She finally found a tree and leaned against it, fighting the nausea she felt.

"Sorry 'bout that, it gets everyone the first time."

She looked up at the talking tree and realized it wasn't an old growth, just the solid trunk of the farmboy. "Ok… wow… so… the red meteor rock gives you powers, but it makes you an egotistical asshole. Got it."

Kal laughed loudly again. "So far off base it's not even funny. I see why Clark needed me to do this." He sat down on a rock near the river he brought them too. "Have a seat."

Lois glared at him. "I'll stand thank you."

Kal just grinned. "Fine, suit yourself. Obviously, I have powers. I'm fast, strong, I can shoot fire with my eyes, see through things too…"

"Whoa whoa whoa, see through things?" Lois crossed her arms over her chest out of reflex at the mention of being exposed.

Kal laughed. "Don't worry, Altar boy Clark wouldn't take a peek. No matter how many times I put the idea in his head. Fuckin' saint." Kal looked at the arms covering her chest for a moment and considered it… but stopped himself. "Anyway… yea, we have powers because we're not really from around here."

"Last I checked Detroit wasn't cranking out superfast, meathead, peeping toms so the 'not from around here' excuse doesn't fly."

Kal stood slowly, shaking his head. "Look Admiral All-Hands-on-my-Deck, when I say not from around here, I mean…" He swept his arms out, gesturing up to the starry night sky.

Lois looked up and her jaw dropped. "No way… there is no way in hell that Clark Kent is from another planet."

Exhaling, Kal walked over to the rock he had been sitting on and lifted it easily from the ground before tossing it into the air. Lois stared up into the sky and then looked back at him before he gestured for her to stay quiet. Suddenly the rock came back down and Kal punched it, splintering the boulder into hundreds of thousands of pebbles as it fell the rest of the way to the ground.

Lois stumbled back and tripped, falling on her ass in the tall grass.

"Ouch. That looked like it might hurt. Need Dr. K. to kiss it all better?"

Lois didn't even react to that. "Wow… you're… wow. But how do I know that this isn't just because of that ring?"

Kal shrugged. "Well, I have no intentions of taking it off for a very long time, so you're just gonna have to trust me sweetness."

Lois shook her head. "So why now? Why would Clark knowingly release… you?" She almost spat the last word, glaring at the cocky grin.

Kal sat back down on a fallen log. "He can't deal with it anymore. Everything's getting too rough, so Clarkie decided to give me some time in the driver's seat."

"Well why is that so much better? What are you going to be able to do for him, fix all his problems with a wiggle of your nose and a tacky piece of jewelry?"

Kal popped his neck. The smartass comments were getting a little old. "Because I don't give a shit about any of the things Farmer Clark cares about. There's an entire world out there for the taking, for the living, and he'd rather stay here in the middle of Bum-Fuck-Kansas saving the day."

Lois held her hand up. "Whoa whoa… saving the day? What do you mean?"

Kal just snickered. "Seriously, you need to open your eyes. Do you think it was just by chance he found your tight and toned ass in that drain system last year? And how he found and stopped the truck you and your crazy ass convict of a sister were rolling in?" At her wide eyed stare he nodded. "Yup, that was him too. Or how about when he stopped that helicopter that was speeding you away to a life of servitude and ass shaking? Seriously, do you know how difficult it is to lasso a helicopter when you've got a hard on the size of Texas? I've gotta give it to my boy there, he managed to get it done while he could only imagine getting you done." Kal's eyes traveled her body again. "Damn you looked hot on that stage."

Lois was waving her arms in the air. "Cut it out! Ok, so maybe Clark has more of a hero complex than I thought, and maybe he doesn't deserve a lot of the crap I give him, but knock it off with this whole 'Clark is horny for me' thing."

"It's not a 'thing' sweets. Clark has the hots for you. Only reason he tried to make it work with Lana so much was because he knew you'd just laugh in his face and tell him to get lost if he told you how he felt about you."

Lois felt her stomach roll. Clark Kent really did find her attractive. And he did like her. And he thought she would laugh in his face and tell him to get lost?!? Honestly Lois hadn't let herself think about it much before, but a relationship with Clark? Truthfully, the idea didn't make her feel nauseous at all. She felt… comfortable. "So he let you take over because he was so afraid I'd think he was… weird?"

Kal shook his head. "Nah, there was another reason. Clark's having issues with losing his daddy."

Lois' expression hardened. "Don't even think about talking badly about Mr. Kent. He was… is… an amazing man. You can see his influence in Clark."

Kal stood up quickly, the ground rumbling form the force. "Yea, I know. That old bastard thought he knew what was right for everybody, but he doesn't. Self righteous, holier than thou, conceited son of a…" He was cut off by a hard slap across his face. Looking down at the woman who hit him, he noticed her clutching her hand. "Not smart to hit a guy who can survive re-entry from a nuke in low orbit."

Lois filed that last statement away for later investigation. "I told you… don't talk bad about Mr. Kent."

Kal looked at the woman in front of him. She was feisty to be sure, that was a plus. No wonder the Boy Scout had feelings for her. "Why does it matter so much? It's not like the old man was your dad. He wasn't even Clark's dad. He was just the old fart who had the bad luck to almost get wiped out by the Boy Scout's ship when it landed here."

Yet more information to be stored away for later. "What is your problem with Jonathan Kent? Jealous of the attention he paid to Clark?"

Kal laughed, a little too loud. "Jealous? Of an overbearing, pompous know it all and his goody two shoes wife? Please, I'd rather be stuck wearing flannel the rest of my life. Which thankfully, I no longer have to worry about."

Lois watched him and noticed that he was very quick to dispel any idea that he might have cared about the Kents. "That's it. You are jealous. You got to see all the love they gave to Clark and you knew that if this side came out, this bad boy James Dean wanna be, you were afraid they wouldn't care about you. That's why you exist isn't it Kal? You're the side of Clark that he's ashamed of. You're the side that he doesn't want anyone to know about."

Staring her down, Kal gritted his teeth hard enough to cast off sparks almost. "Bullshit. If he's so ashamed of me why did he let me out?"

Lois shrugged. "We all have moments of weakness. I'm sure if he could, Clark would try to put you back in your little cage. Or hey, you could even do it. Just take the jewelry off and stop trying to hide how you really feel."

"And just how do you think I feel Lois?"

She took a step closer, feeling the heat and anger boiling off the man in black. "Deep down you loved Mr. Kent, because no matter what you say and how you try to spin it he was your father too. You and Clark are the same person, but you've split yourself out of this fear. You are Clark. As much of a badass as you try to be, you still know right from wrong and that's why you were ashamed."

Kal's face shifted. He went from righteous anger to confusion in an instant. His eyes darted around the pasture not wanting to face her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

It was Lois' turn to stare at him like he was a moron. "Please, you think you have the market corned on daddy issues bud? My dad put me on permanent babysitting duty when I was six, and ever since then I've been one constant screw up in his eyes."

Kal glanced back at her. "You're not though. You shouldn't be put in that situation."

Her eyes bugging out, Lois shifted closer. "That was a moment of insight. Oh my god, Clark is really in there isn't he?"

Kal held his hand out, pushing her back more forcefully than he had intended. "Just back the hell up. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Just admit it… you care about Jonathan Kent. You care that he's gone, or you wouldn't be fighting it so much right now. Why do you think you have to act like you don't? What has you so pissed off about all of this?"

"BECAUSE I KILLED HIM!"

Lois felt the earth tremble at the roar that came from the tortured young man. She had no disillusions that Clark and Kal were one and the same now. She knew that tortured tone. "What do you mean? Mr. Kent died of a heart attack."

Kal snorted, his face twisting as he tried to hold his emotions in check. "His heart was bad because of me. Because he was given powers like mine to try and bring me home years ago."

Sifting through the library of stories she had heard about this town since she moved here, it suddenly clicked for Lois. "The summer Clark ran to Metropolis. That was you."

Kal nodded slowly. "Yea. Shit got too real around here and the Boy Scout couldn't take it, so he called me in to take care of things. Nothing better to deal with heartache and disappointment than months of parties, women and fast cars."

Lois stepped closer, her hand reaching out. "Clark… I know that you're in there. Please, just talk to me. You don't have to hide behind this guy anymore. Clark we all screw up, but you can't take all of this on yourself. You didn't kill your father Clark."

Kal screamed again, shoving Lois back this time. "You don't know what it's like! You don't know how it feels when no matter what you do, he's always there, telling you how you screwed up and how you need to fix it… and then telling you he loves you just the same. Do you know how that fucks with your head? The old man would read me the riot act and then give me a hug, who the hell does that?!"

Lois shut her eyes, finally understanding him fully. "I do understand. Your father did the same thing for me. For god's sake Clark, he gave me the opportunity to run his Senatorial Campaign. I was selling muffins and espressos, why would he take that chance on me? And yea I made mistakes here and there but he never held it against me, he just said it was a learning experience and patted me on the back. I know how that feels, I know how much it can mess with you. But everything that Jonathan Kent ever did he did out of love. And 'Kal'… Deep down you now that even when you screwed up so badly, he loved you too. And he wasn't going to stop." She stared at the man on his knees in the dirt, silent sobs racking his body. She could hear him gasping for air, trying to fight what he felt clawing deep in his chest. "It'll be alright Clark. It'll all be alright."

Kal stared up at her from the dirt, his face twisted somewhere between a sneer and hope. Kal looked down at his hands and his body shook when his left hand moved toward his right. "No. NO! You said it's my time… my time now! You couldn't deal with it, you need me! YOU NEED ME BOY SCOUT!"

Lois stepped back from the spectacle before her. She could see the inner turmoil boiling to the surface and she knew Clark was fighting with his darker half.

Kal slowly spread his hands apart, smirking. "That's right… just let me handle it. I'll take care of everything farmboy." He licked his lips as he looked back up to Lois, a predatory grin crossing his features. Lois took another step back but stopped when Kal started to shake. His eyes shut tight, she saw his body almost vibrating, blurring before her very eyes. His eyes slowly opened again as he stared down at his own hand. When he spoke, it was steady and deep, a far cry from the leering and cocky tone he had.

"Give… me… back… my… life."

His hands came together again and she saw him grip the ring. His arms shook, almost fighting each other. Kal… no… Clark started to yell, screaming louder as he pulled the ring away, his entire body tensing from the struggle. "No more hiding Kal. No more!" Clark finally snatched the ring away and stared down at it in his hand. Lois felt the sizzle of heat before she saw his eyes light up. Clark glanced up to her for a moment… and then back at the ring. She saw the heat pour from his eyes, fire raining down into his hand.

Lois had to take a step back from him. The grass around his body was drying out and dying in the dirt from the heat.

Clark's heat vision finally subsided, leaving nothing but a puddle of char and cracked rock in his hand. Dropping it to the ground, Clark slowly stood up and looked around. Wiping his hand off on the shirt, he noticed what he was wearing and grunted. "I hate these fucking clothes." He ripped the black button up away with ease, making Lois take another step back.

"Are… are you still Kal?"

He looked over to her and shook his head. "No. The ring is gone. Why?"

Taking a deep breath, she slowly made her way back over to him. "Well, I can't remember ever hearing you use that word, Smallville."

In spite of himself, Clark couldn't help but laugh. "Yea. You have a point. But I…" He looked at the tattered shirt in his hands and sighed. "I don't think I can afford to live like this side of me doesn't exist. When I lose control and give in, it's way too much. Kal is a part of me… I have to stop trying to shut it away."

Lois came closer, putting her hand on his forearm. "What made you bring him out now Clark? What's so bad that you couldn't talk to any of us?"

His body trembled under her hand. "I… I've got the farm now. And my mom needs help. And everything I try to do to protect people. And…" his voice broke. "And my dad's gone. And I miss him so much. But if I break down and admit it, I'm not living up to the kind of man I'm supposed to be. I've got to be stronger."

Lois moved quickly, grabbing Clark and wrapping him in a tight hug. "Clark, that's just stupid. Your father was one of the most caring, giving men I ever knew. He wouldn't think less of you for your emotions. And none of us do either. Hell, I just found out one of my best friends is from another planet and can smash boulders at the speed of light and you don't see me wigging out. I'd be more worried if you didn't care about this sort of thing."

Clark stumbled back from her suddenly, his eyes wide. "Oh god… you… I didn't mean for you to find out like this Lois."

She smiled softly. "It's fine. I always knew there was something different about you, but I chalked it up to your unnatural love of plaid and flannel."

Clark's look of shock slowly twisted into a grin. Only Lois Lane could put him at ease and insult him at the same time. "Thank you… I think."

Reaching out Lois grabbed his hand. "So come on, I think we need to sit down with your mom and Chloe and get this out in the open so we can all tell you how stupid you were at the same time. I know it can get repetitive."

Clark shook his head as he smiled. "Fine." Scooping her up in his arms he turned back toward home, ready to run.

"Wait Smallville, one question. What your evil twin said about those fantasies you've been having… was that all true?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

Clark faltered for a moment but he quickly recovered. A smirk slid to his lips slowly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Taken aback by his sudden forwardness, Lois realized the gravity of the situation. She was currently being held in the arms of a super powered being from another planet… a shirtless super powered being from another planet… a sexy shirtless super powered being from another planet.

"_Clark Kent's getting in touch with his inner bad boy… this could get very interesting."_

_//_

Just thought it'd be different, hope you all enjoy._  
_


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